Mobile applications are not only limited to retail or eCommerce applications but are equally relevant and necessary for other industrial verticals like finance, healthcare, travel, IT enterprises, and more. Almost every industrial sector is turning to advanced mobile technology, and the medical and healthcare domain is not left untouched.
The widespread damage caused by the pandemic is not forgotten by anyone. If anything, it has made us realise the importance of health and living a healthy lifestyle. And most importantly, it has led to the marrying of traditional healthcare activities with technology to offer modern patient solutions and experiences for immediate crisis treatment. The advent of mobile healthcare apps has bridged the gap between available healthcare solutions and patients. Whether a regular check-up or any specific treatment, mobile healthcare apps have facilitated a closer connection between the hospital, their staff, and patients. Even reports suggest that 45% of patients prefer scheduling an appointment with the hospital online beforehand.
The need for high-technology solutions has accelerated, and the healthcare application market is said to reach $236 billion by 2026. With 75% of the world’s population using smartphones, it makes sense to build a healthcare application that acts as a mediator between hospitals and patients. Nevertheless, your competitors have already done the math and joined the bandwagon of developing easy-to-use mobile apps for their healthcare units.
Here are the following reasons why you must do so.
#1: Easy appointment booking
As mentioned above, gone are the days when a patient used to call the receptionist to book an appointment or visit the hospital only to wait for several hours owing to the long hospital queues. Unless it is an emergency case, nobody likes to wait around, especially in a hospital, for their appointment. With hospital mobile apps, patients can quickly check a doctor’s schedule, visit timings, available slots, and so on before booking an appointment. The best part, you can now set a reminder for your appointment. This makes the booking procedure stress-free for the patients. Additionally, it lessens the burden of the receptionists as they don’t need to make reminder calls to the patients and instead focus on emergency calls. For instance, the doctor on-demand mobile app allows patients to look for doctors in their area urgently and book appointments conveniently.
#2: Virtual consultations
Healthcare mobile apps have made it possible for patients to consult top doctors via their smartphones, discuss their issues, and seek high-quality medical care while enjoying the comfort of their homes. A mobile app can handle all the communication for you. Since you no longer have to visit the hospital for medical aid, it makes the entire process hassle-free and reduces in-person contact. This way, even doctors can easily dedicate themselves to a patient’s ailments, and the patients can sit in one city while conversing with a doctor in another city while moving from their couch.
#3: Access to medical reports
Remember when we used to carry our medical reports with us every time we visited a doctor for further appointments? With a healthcare mobile app, patients no longer need to rush to hospitals or labs to get their medical reports as they can now receive them online anytime. Furthermore, patients can consult with physicians directly without going through the trouble of carrying their reports with them or worrying in case they’ve misplaced them. This boosts patient convenience and also reduces paperwork.
#4: Improving treatment efficiency
All medical apps for patients are integrated with a centralised database, meaning a doctor can simply pull a patient’s report or medical record from the internet and provide optimal consultation. This eases the process as doctors no longer have to read multiple reports manually, especially when they’re attending to the needs of numerous patients simultaneously. As a result, doctors feel more relaxed and focused on the treatment, improving the overall patient experience and a hospital’s reputation.
Dealing with bills and accepting patient consultation fees is a hefty and time-consuming process. This requires a separate team to manually keep track of all the patients who have paid or not paid the bills and then run after insurance companies for clearance. However, mobile healthcare apps can reduce this process to a few minutes. The patients can select their preferred payment method, pay fees online, and even connect to their insurer via apps.
#6: Cashing on the feedback/reviews
With a mobile app, you can leverage social reviews and feedback to your advantage. When other patients view the feedback provided by a patient regarding a doctor’s consultation, they feel confident and open enough to discuss their issues. This also means that hospitals can use the review to better their services based on the suggested improvements and live up to a patient’s expectations. Moreover, the hospital staff can raise concerns regarding a patient’s behaviour on the mobile app and ensure issue resolution.
#7: Effective promotion
Medical apps are a way for hospitals to stand out in the market. In today’s competitive space, hospitals need to reap the maximum benefits of the available cost-effective resources. And investing in mobile apps development is an effective way to turn one-time patients into regular ones. You can use push notification systems to inform patients about their reports and upcoming appointments. They can even use it as an effective marketing tool to share recent news, medical package promotion, and other special offers. These are all the ways to stay connected with your patients and offer them a consistent and long-lasting experience.
Building a healthcare mobile app with a leading development agency
The above points are enough to compel you to build a mobile app for patients and how they improve the lives of doctors, staff, and patients. If you’re wondering about the ROI of investing in healthcare mobile app development, rest assured that it makes your hospital operations smooth and adds value to your patient experiences. Along with a leading mobile app development company by your side, you can easily build next-gen, custom and futuristic healthcare mobile applications.
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